Carter Starocci shares glimpse of intense training involving dumbbell exercises as he gears up to make NCAA history in 2025

Carter Starocci shared glimpse into his intense training which involved dumbbell exercises. The 23-year-old is in his fifth year at Penn State, where he aims to script history by winning his fifth title at the NCAA Wrestling Championships.

Having already dominated the 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 editions, Starocci announced his comeback in May 2024 to achieve a feat no wrestler has ever accomplished, using the additional year of eligibility granted to student-athletes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Besides Starocci, Pat Smith, Cael Sanderson, Kyle Dake, Logan Stieber, Yianni Diakomihalis, and Aaron Brooks are the wrestlers who have won four titles. However, with Brooks not entering for a fifth year, this means Starocci is the one with the chance to etch his name in the record books.

As he gears up for a strong challenge in the 2025 session, Carter Starocci was seen involved in intense workout sessions. In a recent Instagram story, he shared a video of himself performing dumbbell exercises in which he showed his flexibility. He captioned the post:

“Flexibility and mobility have jumped levels this year!”

Screenshot of Starocci’s Instagram story. Credits - IG/ @carterstarocci

Notably, the four-time NCAA champion is featuring in the 184-pound weight class this season, after previously earning titles in the 174 pounds category.

Carter Starocci opens up about his progress during 2024-2025 season

Carter Starocci during Division I Mens Wrestling Championship 2023 (Photo by Shane Bevel/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

Carter Starocci opened up about his progress in the sport so far this season. After switching to a higher weight division for the 2024-25 season, he spoke about how not having to cut weight has helped him think more clearly, be more punctual, and enjoy the sport more. He appeared in one of the episodes of ‘Nickals and Dimes podcast’ in January 2025, stating (0:42):

“Feeling good, just, you know, every year you always take in, like, just a lot of new tactics and things like that, and for me, just a big change was, I think, going up a weight class. That was just kind of like a real big, like, when you're in the storm - I don't want to call it a storm - but when you're in the midst of things, and when you're cutting weight, it's just, that's what you have to do. So that's, like, that's where the focus is and things like that…I just feel like I've gotten so much better at wrestling.”

“I'm thinking more clearly, I'm on time to appointments and things like that. Yeah, it was a tough weight and it wasn't that I would get up to, like, 200 lbs, it was still like a 15-17 lb cut, but I was just so lean, yeah, and just up till 3 in the morning and things like that. So, now it's just a lot more enjoyable and things like that,” he added.

Additionally, he shared during the interview how Cael Sanderson, the Penn State wrestling team head coach, wants him to move into more leadership role by motivating the younger members.